Natalie Jenner's EVERY TIME WE SAY GOODBYE was historical fiction at its best, sharing the story of Vivien, would-be playwright fleeing terrible reviews to assist with a movie set in Italy. I loved the time period, the settings, and stories interwoven throughout of WWII, art, the Resistance, and the dialogue between well-drawn characters. I felt totally immersed in a time and place -- a wonderful escape so well-written and structured so that I was tempted to read just one more chapter instead of going to bed, getting to work, doing anything but leaving a vivid, wonderfully realized story.

Post-WWII Italy is back to making films, and Vivien becomes a script doctor and living la dolce vita, while dealing with the Catholic Church censors versus films made with the passion of the moment. 

A parallel story from the war is told about the Resistance and its ties to a convent still maintaining secrets, while Vivien tries to find out what happened to her fiance during the war. When she discovers the truth, she finds peace and has decisions to make about her future.

The backdrop of Rome makes the perfect setting for Vivien's story, her life, her love, and her writing. The reader is transported to this vibrant time and mesmerized by the story, the characters, and the country, even in the face of obstacles.

A beautiful story told with heart.

Every time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner is technically book #3 in the Jane Austen Society books but reads as a stand alone book just with some of the characters making appearances. Set mostly in the 1950's, Vivien Lowry is struggling with her playwriter career in London after her second play bombs. She is encouraged to go to Rome to help "fix" a movie script and at the same time she can search to see if there is any information about her fiancé who died during WWII in Italy.

Rome has become quite the movie haven during the 50's when so many in Hollywood were being outed as communists and unable to work there anymore. It was fascinating to learn about how integral the Italian film making industry had become. The book also shows us how the Catholic Church took an interest in the industry and a censor of what was considered not only wholesome but patriotic to the Italian people.

It took a while into the book to figure out where it was going because there was also a timeline in 1943 with a female assassin who was part of the resistance and killed German commanders. It wasn't clear how the two timelines would interconnect, but they did and the lives of those involved would forever be changed. That really was the focus of the book, saying goodbye to those we love and the tragedy of war.

It is a heartfelt story but also full of lush scenery and captivating info on life after war.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Are you a fan of classic movies? I love classic movies and could watch them all day if I had the time. Time seems to be a problem for me lately with my oldest son near high school graduation and us deciding to redo our hardwood floors.

Happy #bookbirthday today to Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner.

Every Time We Say Goodbye is the story of Vivian Lowry. In 1955, she wrote a play that audiences loved, but critics loathed. Following the recommendations of friends, Vivian travels to Italy where she works as a script doctor on a movie. She also uses her time there to investigate the disappearance of her fiancé during WWII. Flashbacks also tell the story of “La Scolaretta”, a schoolgirl who is also an assassin during WWII. How are these two stories related?

My thoughts on this novel:
• With my hectic schedule, I once again found it best to review this book as both an audiobook and a physical book. It worked well. Juliet Aubrey was a soothing narrator.

• I felt immersed in 1950s Italy in this novel and loved the details of movie making in Italy during this time period. It was fun when real life actors, such as Sophia Loren and Ava Gardner, made an appearance.

• This is the third novel in The Jane Austen Society series, but the series is very loosely related. Vivian is a character in the previous books, and in this novel, she gets her own story. Other characters pop back up as well. It’s fun if you’ve read the previous two books, but this book can very much be a standalone novel.

• I thought it was interesting exploring how the Catholic Church was involved with the making of the movies during this time. It was much more involved than I thought.

• I didn’t know how the two storylines were connected for a long time while reading this novel, but they came together beautifully at the end.

• This was a thoughtful look at love and loss, how to best remember someone when they are gone, and how to move on from that loss.

• I had a harder time engaging with the characters in this novel than I did in the previous novels.

Favorite Quote: “Yet in the end, goodness is fixed and steady, and not so difficult to spot. It is evil that takes a bewildering number of forms and keeps changing its shape, tricking you with false promises and reasoning, taunting you into resignation.”

Overall, Every Time We Say Goodbye was a well written novel that gives the reader an immersive experience of 1950s filmmaking in Italy as well as a thoughtful look at how WWII impacted the people of that time.

Read if you like: post WW2 fiction, movie setting in Italy
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Taking place after Bloomsbury Girls, we follow Vivien as she leaves London for Rome to work as a writer for a film production company. There she learns how Italians are trying to move forward from WW2 and Fascism, as well as the tight grip the Church has on the country and censorship/
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Overall I liked this book but it is my least favourite of Jenner's three books in the series. The Jane Austen Society was just so perfect. The pacing of this one was quite slow at times, but I still enjoyed it!

Natalie Jenner’s third novel, Every Time We Say Goodbye, once again features some of the characters from her first two novels. Here Vivien Lowry takes center stage. An aspiring writer, she’s written a play that’s a flop with the critics. Smarting with disappointment, she goes to Italy to take a position as a script doctor at the world famous Cinecittà movie studios in Rome. She’s also searching for answers as to what happened to her fiancé David.
There are two timelines fairly close together; one follows a young Italian Resistance fighter during WWII and the other takes place in the same locale in the mid-50s and follows Vivien. I’ve read all three of Jenner’s books and they’re all intertwined, but can be easily read as a stand-alone. Of the three this is probably my least favorite. It’s a little less cosy and at times a lot more horrifying. I felt it was slow getting going, but if you stick with it it does get better and leads to a satisfying conclusion. It’s about religion and faith, censorship, trauma and healing, and women’s issues too. 4 stars

Every Time We Say Goodbye follows Vivian Lowry, whose play has just been viciously ripped apart by London critics leaving her with a desperate need for a change of scenery. And on top of that she finds out that her long thought dead fiancée may in fact have disappeared in Italy. When an opportunity presents itself, Viví finds herself in Rome, exploring its cinema as a script doctor while also working to unbury the secrets of its WWII past

This book was a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed learning about Italian cinema in the 50s. For examples, I had no idea that the famous Italian studio, Cinecitta, was actually created by Mussolini! Also enjoyed learning more about the Italian partisan movement, which I had learned a bit about in another recent read, The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre by Natasha Lester. The story of the scolarata (a young female assassin) and Prince Nino was one of the most touching parts of the book, a truly tragic love story, which highlights how Italian women were the unsung heroines of the war. However, the structure of the book didn’t work for me. There was no well defined plot. Because the story meandered so much I’m ultimately not sure if this was meant to be the story of Vivi finding closure after the war, uncovering the fate of her fiancée or an insiders look into the secrets of Italian cinema in the 50s. Overall, this book had a lot of potential, but the execution was not well done in my opinion

A woman playwright in the 1950s Vivien Lowry flees London for Rome after some scathing reviews. Here she finds employment in a thriving film industry led by Cinecitti Studios. Surrounded by artists and creatives Vivien immerses herself in their lives and her work. Italy at this time is still healing from the wounds of WWII and its people the trauma. Vivien herself has questions about the loss of her beloved fiancé. This book tells their story, people creating art while facing the horrors of the past under the very watchful eye of the Catholic Church. This is the 3rd book in the Jane Austen Society series and can be read as a stand alone although there are references to characters and their back stories. I think I would have preferred to read in order. Thank you to netgalley and St Martins Press

I received an advance copy, which somehow kept getting pushed aside, but it is being published on Tuesday, so here I am on Mother's Day reading a book filled with stories about Mother's.
Jumping between 1943 and 1955 Italy, we have a story about a girl in the resistance and a British woman, Vivien Lowry, who has lost her fiancee in the war and much more.
After a play she writes in London receives bad reviews, she departs for Rome to be a script doctor at an Italian studio.
I found the intermixture of real people such as Peggy Guggenheim, Sophia Loren, and Gina Lollobrigida, along with fictionalized versions of other stars and movie directors quite fascinating.
The depiction of war and the aftermath is heartbreaking, and the author manages to allude to the present while writing about the past.
Faith and the lack of it, passion used to hide emptiness, hypocrisy at all levels is touched upon. The life of war orphans and war veterans is also written with compassion.
Vivien, as a character, is filled with grief for many reasons, and she finally finds a way to live again.
The epilogue is particularly moving. This is a book I will introduce to my many book clubs.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the EARC. This is my honest review. I really can't wait to share this book.

I feel bad saying I did not enjoy this book, as I know it was well researched, but that is the truth.

Sometimes it works when books have lots of characters and various plots going on simultaneously. Unfortunately, this was not one of those times. Despite Every Time We Say Goodbye being set in the glamorous post-war scene of 1950s Italy, within the film industry no less, I became overwhelmed with the large cast and did not feel connected to any of them, not even the protagonist, Vivian.

I received e-book and audiobook copies of this novel, and would likely not have been able to finish if I did not have the audio to listen to on double speed. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio, for arcs to review in exchange for my feedback.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book.

It's 1955 and Vivien Lowry is the author of the only woman-written play currently in London's West End theaters. But opening night, despite the audience's applause, the critics do not agree and it soon closes. Vivien decides to try something else for a while and heads to Rome and the famous Cinecitta Studios, where there is a script in trouble which some think maybe Vivien can rescue.

With the HUAC investigations going on in America, there are a lot of ex-pats living and working in Rome and Vivien gets to know many of them. Both Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida are just starting their careers and learning English in preparation for Hollywood and super stardom. But the recent war also hangs over Italy. So many suffered under first Mussolini and then the Germans and many still have not forgotten. Just before Vivien leaves, she finds out that her fiance, missing and presumed dead, was last seen in Italy after leaving an internment camp. But the trail seems lost and she is determined to find out what happened to him.

With many friends and social contacts, she seemingly becomes acquainted with "everyone who is anyone" as she searches. But she also hears another story, that of a young girl who was part of the Resistance and was captured, tortured and murdered in Rome in 1943. As a movie about this young girl is being prepared and questions arise about the Church's response, or lack of one, to the Nazi occupation, she is questioned by the Vatican, who have the final say as to what movies will meet the standards they set and what movies can even be made in Italy.

There is a lot going on in this book, with some chapters going back to the young girl in 1943, but most is set in 1955, as Vivien discovers who she is and who she wants to be. A good book and a good read.

Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner is the third book in the Jane Austen Society series. In a story of love and art, of grief and memory, and of confronting the past and facing the future, it opens in 1955, as Vivian Lowry faces an uncertain future. After a poorly reviewed play that threatens her career as a dramatic playwright, she takes a job as a script doctor on a major film shooting in Rome’s Cinecitta Studios. There she finds a movie filled with rising stars, acclaimed directors and famous actors. The cast and crew find themselves torn between the past and a possibly brighter future, between the liberation of the post war cinema and the restrictions imposed by the Catholic Church. On a personal note, Vivien begins to learn the long-buried truth of what really happened to her deceased fiancé during the war.
As a fan of The Bloomsbury Girls, I was looking forward to Every Time We Say Goodbye. I enjoy stories that feature life in the postwar world. Unfortunately, the story fell flat very quickly. The opening prologue was captivating and I was eager to discover more. However, the story that followed left me confused and lost. There were just so many characters. It was hard to keep track of who was who without stopping every other page to take notes and took me out of the story every time. I didn’t care for Vivien. I found her harsh and lacking any warmth or likability. I did enjoy learning about the famous Cinecitta Studios and the classic American movies that were filmed there. If you enjoyed Ms. Jenner’s The Jane Austen Society and The Bloomsbury Girls, I suggest giving Every Time We Say Goodbye a try. You may enjoy it more than I did.

Every Time We Say Goodbye will be available
in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook May 14, 2024

I was excited to read this without realizing it’s the third book in a series. I haven’t read the first two and I think it impacted my reading a little. A few chapters probably would've been more meaningful if I had that background and Vivien is. Repeat character I believe. But, for the most part, this is you don't need to have read the earlier books.

I enjoyed the writing style and the charms of Italy. The writing was beautiful at times, especially when focused on the role of the cinema. However I found it difficult to immerse myself in this story and connect with the characters. I found the story had too many plot lines and the focus kept veering from one to another. There were moments that had me hooked and eagerly reading to find out the truth about David but then a tangent would have me distracted. I did love the way some of the storylines tied together in the end though.

I loved the glamour of ltaly, the cinema and celebrities. I also loved the parallel between Italy coming to terms with its past and Vivien’s journey.

In the end, I am curious to read the other books by this author and to read a future book she writes even though this was not a favorite.

Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner is a charming story from the first sentence to the last.
A flawlessly written historical fiction novel. With captivating characters, likable characters, beautiful setting that you can envision while reading.
A delight to read and such a well written and absorbing novel.
A charming read of trauma and tragedy, hope and renewal.
Natalie Jenner sure knows how to write a mesmerizing historical fiction story!

Thank You NetGalley and Publisher for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I love historical fiction, especially when it is not set during WWII. I was given the ARC and I have not read this author's other books but it seemed that I did not need to to read this book. Some of the characters from her other books are in this one but it can be read as a standalone. So this one takes place in 1955 in Italy. Italy's movie making scene was huge after the war and so Vivien goes there to help fix a script for a movie. She is a writer. Her fiance died in the war but she learns he went to Italy at some point and she wants to see if she can get answers while she is there. This book also has a lot of the Catholic Church's influence on what kind of movies can be made. They do not want to rehash the atrocities of the war and nothing immoral of course. I am torn with my rating because while I just thought the book was fine, I liked the message of it. Vatican City was neutral in the war. How can you sit back and watch the atrocities and do nothing. Same with Switzerland. Are the silent just as complicit as the bad guys? And people just wanting to sweep it all under the rug like nothing happened. We need the stories of the survivors so no one forgets the horrors. And what better way than to make movies about it. So I did like it overall and I did love the setting. I think I just did not really connect with Vivien maybe. I did highlight a lot though.

-When it came to inquiring in Rome about the war, Levi had warned Vivien that one could never tell who had been a Fascist, who had helped the Nazis, and who had resisted them both.

-Nino keeps telling her that resistance requires action, even that deemed sinful, and even if there are no guarantees. Silence, on the other hand, guarantees nothing.

-"Pain's the cost of living, Vivi. But the angry pay an extra price."

-"Who knew making movies could be such a blood sport.

-But she did understand the unique pain of not knowing what has happened to someone you love. There is nowhere for the grief to go; there is nothing to move on from.

-"Saying goodbye is the hardest thing in the world, save for one, and that is being cheated of it."

-"A movie can only do so much, though. A book, well, that gets you inside someone's head. As close as you can get."

-How lucky the world was for those survivors willing and able to tell their own story, and how imperative that such stories be shared to the greatest extent possible.

-There might be different forms of bigotry out there, but they all stemmed from the weakest part of the human condition: the desire to put oneself first.

-Only if the old world is rebuilt with goodness can they ever avoid such horrors again.

Really sad to DNF at 12%. I'm not invested in the characters, a bit bored and don't care to see what happens in the story. I LOVED Jane Austen Society and really enjoyed Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner. This was one of my most anticipated releases this year but I can't force myself to go on :(

Thank you St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for getting early copies into my hands!

Another wonderfully written story by Natalie Jenner. I don't think I was this is my favorite book by the author. Still a great work.

5.0 stars
HIGHEST recommendation

I received a complimentary Kindle e-book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to Natalie Jenner, Allison and Busby, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This is the beautiful conclusion to the Jane Austen Society trilogy - I would definitely recommend reading the previous two books first to fully appreciate this final book.

The novel is primarily about Vivien who travels to Rome after a theater disaster in London. She is a playwright who is hired to tighten up a screenplay that needs a lot of work. There are two timelines - 1943 with the resistance fighting the Nazis for Italy and 1945/1946 Rome. The two timelines are connected and are so important to be told together.

Natalie Jenner writes beautifully and this is the third book that I have read by her. I truly hope to read more books by her as I have enjoyed them all so much!

If you loved Jenner’s ‘Jane Austen Society’ and ‘The Bloomsbury Girls’ you’ll enjoy this one too.
It centers around Bloomsbury Girl Vivien Lowry, who is off to Rome in hopes of building a career in the movie-making business.
There she encounters friends, lovers, and not only her past - but the past of much of WWII era Italy.
This is a character packed story (you may benefit from taking notes to keep them straight) and a love letter to Italy and its people.
It is also the story of moving forward while solving mysteries of the past.
Vivien is a vibrant character who inspires us all to move on from that past, while always remembering those we loved.

(Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the ARC, this review is my own)

This weaves together the story of a young Italian woman who assassinates a German officer in 1943 with the Italian movie business in 1955 though Vivian, who is hired to help along a script after her second play is savaged by critics in London. Vivian's also hoping to find more information about David, her fiance, who was declared missing after being captured in North Africa. What she finds- or finds her- is John Lassister, who doesn't exactly sweep her off her feet but who does charm her, even though he's married to a famous actress. She also quickly learns about the pervasive influence the Church exerts over life in Italy and over the films made there. Fans of the Jane Austen Society and the Bloomsbury Girls will be pleased to see characters from those novels, notably Tabitha, pop up (could her story be next?). My quibble is the blank spots and some leaps but there are marvelous moments, such as those with Claudia and the story of the sad boy. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of historical fiction (and Jenner).